East European vole

East European vole
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Genus: Microtus
Subgenus: Microtus
Species:
M. mystacinus
Binomial name
Microtus mystacinus
(de Filippi, 1865)
Synonyms

Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Ognev, 1924
Microtus epiroticus Ondrias, 1966
Microtus levis Miller, 1908

The East European vole (Microtus mystacinus) is a species of vole (rodent) in the family Cricetidae.[2]

Distribution and habitat

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It is found in Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Iran, Svalbard (accidentally introduced from 1920),[3] North Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Norway.

Taxonomy

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On Svalbard, they were first discovered in 1960 in the Grumantbyen area, and were thought to be the common vole until a genetic analysis correctly identified them in 1990.[3][4]

References

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  1. ^ Zagorodnyuk, I.; Henttonen, H.; Amori, G.; Hutterer, R.; Kryštufek, B.; Yigit, N.; Mitsainas, G. & Palomo, L. (2021) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Microtus levis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T13454A197293248. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T13454A197293248.en. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. ^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1002. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ a b "Sibling Vole (Microtus levis)". The Norwegian Polar Institute. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  4. ^ Karl Fredga; Maarit Jaarola; Rolf Anker Ims; Harald Steen (December 1990). "The 'common vole' in Svalbard identified as Microtus epiroticus by chromosome analysis". Polar Research. 8 (2): 283–290. doi:10.3402/polar.v8i2.6818.